AbleCommerce Shopping Cart Software

We've run a successful install/config/design/launch of an AbleCommerce 7.0.3 store on a new MS Server 2008 with SQL Server 2008 DB. Works like a champ.

Have a new project running AC 7.0.3 on Server 2008 but we're using SQLExpress 2008 rather than a full Server 2008.
We're having trouble getting the AbleCommerce installation to recognize the SQLExpress 2008 DB. We know that the DB name, user/pwd are all correct. The client assures me that the DB server is behind the firewall with the web server, so it should be 'seen' by the application. We can connect to the DB from the DB server (so I know that the DB name/credentials are all correct).

Connection string continues to fail, whether we use the 'basic' or Advanced string in the Configure page of the install process.

Data Source=SERVERNAME\SQLEXPRESS;Initial Catalog=MYDBNAME;User Id=MYDBUSER;Password=MYPASSWORD;

I've not tried to explicitly declare trusted connection or any other security instance within the connection string, but we are really not having much luck trying to connect. I cannot see any other posts regarding SQLExpress 2008, so I thought I'd add this in and see if anyone else has had this problem.

Thanks!

Have you used the surface area configuration to allow tcpip connections?

SQL 2008 Express uses dynamic tcp ports - your connect string has no port reference; did you change the port to be the default? If not, that's likely the issue (SQL Server Configuration Manager, Network Config, Protocols for 'INSTANCE', TCP/IP).

Thanks, All...
Yes -- we had to specifically turn on TCP/IP within the Configuration manager and be sure that we enabled the IPAddress adapters. As well, the SQL browser service needed to be started. After that, we had to specify the exact port#.

Also helped when we realized that the server admins failed to install the .NET framework. (grumble).

Working just fine now....